A Brief Encounter
by LTP-girl
Summary: Set back in the day. What if Michael Cutter and Claire Kincaid crossed paths? Mike's a newbie at the DA's office, and Claire's just started her new position working for Ben Stone.


**I know** **this pairing is sort of way out there, but I just wanted to give it try. It's set during season four. The show implies that Mike Cutter's a lifer at the DA's office, and given he's age, I'd say he's been working there since the Ben Stone years, maybe even before that, so he's bound to have encountered some of the older characters. Let me know what you think:-D**

Disclaimer: I do not own _Law & Order_ and its characters; they are the property of Dick Wolf and NBC.

A Brief Encounter

By LTP-Girl

**Manhattan County District Attorney's Office**

Mike hurried down the corridor after leaving District Attorney Adam Schiff's office. He was due in court in five minutes for jury selection, and now he was running late after skimming through the details of a drug case with Adam. He brushed past ADAs and other office staff standing in the corridor, as he made his way briskly towards the elevators at the other end of the ninth floor.

The doors of the elevator opened, and he rushed through the doors without even giving the people already inside, who were getting off the floor, the chance to step out. It was at that moment that he had bumped into a young brunette woman, who was starting to make her way out of the elevator, causing the briefs she was holding to slip from her grasp and litter onto the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mike apologised sincerely, placing his briefcase on the floor next to him and bending down to pick them up. He cursed to himself, aware that time wasn't on his side.

Claire rolled her eyes with frustration, before bending down to help him.

They both scrambled to retrieve the lose papers.

Claire took the briefs Mike had offered up to her as they both stood, the floor now clean from the briefs that that had tumbled onto it. She felt an odd flutter in her stomach as their hands lightly grazed.

"Again, I am sorry about that," Mike apologised again. "I'm kind of in a rush. I should have waited for you to come out of the elevator."

Claire had never seen him before, and gathered that he was new at the office. She began to feel her legs turn to jelly, as she looked into his intense blue eyes, his face earnest. "T-that's okay," she replied, her expression softening into a smile. "I really should have put these briefs into a folder..." Her voice trailed, admiring the slight azure twinkle in the boyish attorney's glance. _Come on Claire, get a grip, _she cursed to herself. _This is a professional office. _"I'll see you around, um..." She didn't even know his name.

"Mike."

"Mike, okay." She starred down at the floor, feeling her cheeks burning, avoiding his eyes.

Mike was in such a hurry that he didn't take much notice of her.

She stepped out of the elevator, and set about making her way towards Adam's office, feeling the young man's eyes following her down the corridor. She picked up her pace, continuing to stare down at the floor, without even realising that she had walked past Adam.

"Where are you off to, Ms Kincaid?" he enquired, a little startled by urgency. She didn't even look up to greet him. "You seem to be in a hurry."

She stopped in her tracks, now realising what she had done, and turned to face him. "Oh, I'm sorry Mr Schiff. I didn't see you there." She made her way back towards him, and handed him the pile of briefs she had in her hands. "I came up to give you these."

He took the papers from her outstretched hands, noticing that her nerves had been set on edge. He thought it was odd, considering that Claire had always presented herself as a very calm and collected young woman. He gave her a confused look. "Are you feeling alright, Ms Kincaid?" he enquired, sounding puzzled, bordering on concern.

"Of course I am, Mr Schiff," she replied, sounding surprised by the comment.

"Because, if you don't mind me saying, you seem somewhat ill at ease," he observed. He placed his reading glasses along the bridge of his nose and flicked through the papers she had handed him, a look of frustration forming on his already sombre face. "And I must say, Ms Kincaid, these briefs are looking rather disorganised. They're in complete desire."

"I-I'm sorry, Mr Schiff, I dropped them. I bumped into someone as I was about to step out of the elevator, and he caught me by surprise," she explained hesitantly. "It won't happen again."

"It had better not," he warned. His thoughts had been broken by the loud ding of the elevator, and he turned to see where the sound had come from. He noticed a slender young man dressed in a black suit inside the elevator as the doors closed, and recognised the man as ADA Michael Cutter. A sly smile crept across his face. "Ah, that's Michael Cutter, one of the new ADAs." He turned back to face Claire, an enlightened expression spread across his face. "I tell ye, that kid's going places."

**Three weeks later, Gavel Bar, 5pm **

Mike had a tough day in court, trying to convict the leader of a drug gang. The argument he presented to the court had been completely eviscerated by the defence, and his evidence, such as it was, had been overthrown, the judge having ordered a mistrial. He cursed to himself, before gulping down his glass of scotch.

The hub of background noise increased in volume. He glanced up from the empty glass in front of him and analysed the rowdy crowd of people surrounding him. _Typical lawyers' bar_ he pondered to himself, recognising a group of ADAs from the office, as they talked and laughed amongst each other. It seemed that everyone except him was having a good time. It didn't help having the rough day_ he_ had.

It was at that moment he heard footsteps approach him from behind. "Buy you another drink, dimples?" he heard a woman say to him playfully.

He whirled around to see who it was who spoke to him. A stunning brunette dressed in a deep blue suit stood before him, causing his heart to suddenly beat a little faster, her unexpected presence having caught him off guard.

He had been taken adrift by her enigmatic beauty, lost in the penetrating chocolate pools that were her eyes. "I-I..um, sure," he finally replied after a short pause, his voice caught in his throat. He smiled coolly at her, trying to regain composure.

"A martini, and a scotch for the gentleman," she called out to the barman. A knowing half-cocked smile played on her lips as she took a seat next to Mike. She crossed her legs and rested her arm on the back of her chair, turning to face the young man she had successfully lured with her charm. Her expression turned puzzled, vaguely recognising him. "You look familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?"

Mike cleared his throat. "I'm a prosecutor for the drugs department of the DA's office," he managed to answer. He put his hand forward to shake her hand. "I'm Michael Cutter. Call me Mike."

_That's where I know him from_. She reflected back on the instance where he had bumped into her as she was coming out of the elevator, and caused her to drop the pile of briefs she was holding in her arms. She smiled to herself as she shook his hand, returning the gesture. "I'm Claire," she replied, admiring the pensive gaze in his grey-blue eyes. "Claire Kincaid."

He smiled, his eyes harbouring a delighted twinkle. "So, you're Ben Stone's new assistant."

"Yeah that's right," she replied. "I guess news regarding the EADA travels pretty quickly through the office."

"Well, you know what gossips the interns are," he joked.

The two ADAs chatted for the next ten minutes, topics varying from current cases to recent affairs presented in the media.

Mike enjoyed Claire's company. She seemed to harbour an aura of fiery energy, a flagrant exuberance. She was no shy little woman, who would look up to a man and admire his strength and success. He could tell that she was the sort of woman who didn't have any qualms about competing with any man on his own turf, and she certainly wasn't shy in expressing her opinions.

She was quick-witted, independent, and passionate, and though her outlook on life idealistic, Mike found these qualities in her to be refreshing.

At that moment, her cell phone began to ring. "Sorry, I've got to take this," she apologised, removing the brick-like device from her pants pocket.

She talked into the phone for a while, before returning her attention back to Mike. "I'm sorry Mike," she apologised. "That was Ben. He just rang to tell me that Adam Schiff has had a medical emergency," she explained. Her tone harboured concern as well as slight agitation. "He slipped in the snow of all things, and hit his head on the pavement along Centre Street. Sounds like he'll be out for a couple of days."

Mike's eyes widened with alarm, concerned for the dear older man, hoping that his condition wasn't too serious.

"I'm sorry Mike," she apologised once again. "Ben needs me back at the office as soon as possible. With Mr Schiff out, he'll need all the assistance he can get with running the office."

"That's okay," Mike replied with a forced smile, admiring his attractive new acquaintance as she got out of her seat.

She placed a gentle hand on top of his, and he felt a chill serge through his body in response to her gentle touch. "We'll do this again? Some other time?"

Mike nodded in agreement, noticing the soft scent of her perfume lingering through the airspace between them. "Yeah sure," he replied whole heartedly.

She gave him a reassuring smile, noticing the slight discouragement in his expression. "You know where my office is." She threw a couple of bills on the bar, before making her way towards the front entrance of the bar.

Mike hesitated for a moment, wandering how to get her attention once again. "H-Hey Claire."

She stopped in her tracks, and turned to face him.

"You like baseball?" he enquired, a hint of nervousness in his tone.

A wry smile crept on her face, amused by Mike's hindering. "I love baseball."

"Would you go to a game with me some time? That's when you're not too busy." Mike was desperately hoping she'd say yes.

"It's a date," she replied enthusiastically, her smile reaching her eyes, flattered by his invitation. She then quickly left the bar and made her way back towards One Hogan Place.

Mike's eyes followed her as she made her way up the street, her face etched on his mind, his sallow expression transforming into a crooked half smile.

_Well, I guess my day hasn't been that bad after all, _he thought silently to himself.

The end.

**A/N: In an episode I was watching, Mike mentions that he worked on nothing but drug cases for the first five years right out of law school, so I thought I'd take note of that since this story is set during the time Mike was starting at the DAs office. **

**What do you think? Feel free to comment:-D**


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